News and reports from the Department of Justice.

A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned a seven-count indictment charging 20 men and four women with trafficking cocaine in the District of Puerto Rico, beginning in 2017.

A South St. Paul felon has been charged in a federal indictment for illegal possession of ammunition, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ANTHONY RICCARDI, an owner and manager of the Connecticut insurance firm Employee Benefit Solutions LLC (“EBS”), pled guilty today in White Plains federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that EDIBERTO SANTANA, a/k/a “Flaco Veneno,” was sentenced to life imprisonment for leading the Sunset Trinitarios gang from at least 2010 through 2019 and, in that capacity, ordering multiple acts of brutal violence, including the March 13, 2011, murder of Dennis Marquez, age 16, who was stabbed to death in the Bronx; the October 23, 2013, murder of Michael Beltre, age 17, who was shot and killed in the Bronx; and the November 17, 2013, murder of Rafael Alam, age 22, who was shot and killed in the Bronx. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty imposed today’s sentence.

Calvin Butler, 24, of Dunbar, pleaded guilty today to a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of $16,040 in COVID-19 relief loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

A federal jury convicted Madani Ilara Tejan, a/k/a “Malik,” “Mylik,” and “Dani,” age 30, of Washington, D.C., late on February 17, 2023, for using a firearm in connection with murder and robbery, and for a drug distribution conspiracy.

A federal jury convicted a Washington man on Feb. 17 of using a firearm in connection with murder and robbery.

Alexis Hawkins, 46, of Washington, D.C. pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter while armed in the August 14, 2022 killing of Cynthia Stewart and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon in an unrelated case, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.

A Mexican national was sentenced in federal court in El Paso Wednesday to 144 months in prison, along with an El Paso man who was sentenced to 200 months in prison, for violation of federal law concerning hostage taking.

Good afternoon. Thank you so much for being here.As you might expect, I’d like to start by thanking some people. I want to express my deepest gratitude to the following.

A defendant who broke into a Broken Arrow home and assaulted a woman and man in 2017 was sentenced Friday in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Scherier has sentenced a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on February 13, 2023.

Eric Darrell “Butch” Smith, 52, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 82 months in prison for sexually assaulting a girl in the laundry room of a Northwest apartment building in which they were both living, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.

A Braymer, Mo., man has been convicted by a federal trial jury of his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

United States Attorney Robert J. Troester announced that a federal grand jury indictment was unsealed today charging BOBBY CHRIS MAYES, 50, of Norman, with three counts of tampering with official proceedings